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Live in an adult dorm? Starcity thinks you would, for the right price [video]
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- echelon 7y agoIf there was a network of such living accommodations you could stay at all around the world with the flexibility to book at a moment's notice, that might be compelling. I would pay $1-2k/mo to have the ability to stay in any major city in the world. I wouldn't even sell my condo. This would be an extra luxury.
- wyxuan 7y agoAirbnb and hotels? No?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- echelon 7y agoI think that'd be much more expensive than an adult dorm for long-term travel. I'm imagining a scenario where I work remotely and visit different cities every month between returning home. Sort of as work tourism. Get to spend lots of time visiting other cities for largely just the cost of airfare, and still have enough budget to support your existing rent/mortgage back home. I'm thinking you'd want something closer to cheap capsule hotel rates. It gives you the flexibility of not being tied down, but at the same time lets you maintain your life back home for when you want to return to it (since it's affordable). There's no hassle of searching for hotels that satisfy {safe,clean,cheap,accessible} criteria since you're in a network. Imagine having these available internationally as a part of your subscription service. I'd love to have something like this. (Edit: whoops, I just double posted instead of editing. Deleted the duplicate message.)
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- pg_is_a_butt 7y agoIf only there were a network of airplanes you could fly in all around the world with the flexibility to book at a moment's notice, that might be compelling.
- wyxuan 7y agoHostels seem to fit the bill: cheap, worldwide, and willing to accept you for long-term travel
- safog 7y agoInspirato keeps spamming me on Instagram with this exact ad. $2500 / mo, any of their hotels across the world. No idea if this is some glorified time-share.
- maerF0x0 7y agoI think this would actually undermine their market. People dont want a revolving door of out of towners, they want to build community with people who stay >1Month at a time.
- CriticalCathed 7y agoyou could mandate that you can only move locations every 6 months, unless you pay double rent or something. it could work.
- _asummers 7y agoLike some sort of WeWork (WeLive?) type of arrangement?
- cvhashim 7y agoPretty sure that's what Arrived does. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20682603 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20682603
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- navigatr 7y agoThis is called a hostel or a flop house.
- xtiansimon 7y agoAKA SRO, single room occupancy. Funny companies wrap $#i+ in tech and call it the Next Big Thing—-Taxi hacks become Uber. Subletting becomes AirBNB—like, who knew being poor and having a lousy job and strangers in your house could be so hip. /rant Disclosure. I’ve live in several SROs and they’re sad.
- flukus 7y agoIt already exists and millions of people have been doing it since the 60's, backpacker hostels. I think as a general rule you'd be paying over $2000 a month for a private room, but if you're willing to share you can get well below $1000 a month.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- reggieband 7y agoAdd in some sort of trunk/container service ... like you can take you possessions and put them into a secure trunk/container of various size that gets shipped to the new location. Add in high-speed internet work rooms/stations. I might sign up!
- ta999999171 7y agoThe CEO plane equivalent for tech-nomads...
- CPLX 7y agoThe laws, taxes, and zoning surrounding residences for stays under one month and over are typically wildly different.
- all_blue_chucks 7y agoI believe the preferred nomenclature is "flop house."
- 0xDEEPFAC 7y agoLooks like boarding houses are back....
- safog 7y agoWe-work'd boarding house.
- incompatible 7y agoThat sounds like the Worry Free work houses in the movie "Sorry to Bother You".
- Excel_Wizard 7y agoI would have been glad to live in a boarding house earlier in my career.
- lumost 7y agoLooking at their options it looks like they are simplifying room mate finding. It's a nice value add to be able to work with a steady landlord while only renting a bedroom, it helps shield residents from the cost burden when a room mate moves out and makes it simpler to move into a larger house with more rooms ( and potentially better location ). In Boston there's a scarcity of 1-bedroom units relative to 3+ bedroom units - it's common for folks to live with a few roommates as the typical cost is ~1/2 of the 1-bedroom equivalent and generally easier to find.
- jtlisi 7y agoSo basically the 21st century equivalent of a boarding house: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_house
- capdeck 7y agoHmmm... : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communal_apartment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communal_apartment
- SN76477 7y agoGrowing up I remember my dad living in boarding houses. I like the idea, I feel that communal living will be the future. We are tired of being lonely in our 4 bedroom homes.
- echelon 7y agoYes and no. There are times I want perfect quiet and isolation. I also don't think I'd want to live with my partner in shared accommodations. This would be perfect for "single life" or long-term boarding away from home.
- zdragnar 7y agoBeen there, done that, never going back to communal living again. I don't have a 4 bedroom house either, but I do have my own house that is the right size for me.
- cryptozeus 7y agoU can have more people over in your house when you want and rest of the time you can have quite time. Once you go in communal space you don’t have a choice.
- tedajax 7y agoDon't want to live with other people but very happy in a much smaller home than 4 bedrooms.
- taborj 7y ago
- xwdv 7y agoDorms are only appealing when they are filled with young attractive peers, not washed up aging adults whose ambitions and dreams have been crushed by the reality of the real world.
- shortandsweet 7y agoThat statement reflects your own feelings not the state of society or anyone else.
- CapricornNoble 7y agoCan't that be said about every post on HN? Globally, you certainly don't see many uber-wealthy people over 30 yearning for shared living accommodations. Nor have I ever met anyone who said "I wish I had a neckbeard gamer who doesn't shower and a 39yo crazy cat lady on Xanax as my roommates."
- werber 7y agoI stopped at 2000 dollars a month, this seems insane? I’d love the concept for like maybe 5 or 600 a month
- cryptozeus 7y agoWell that was his second line. They are working on a project to get the rent down to $800. Only if you would not have stopped:)
- werber 7y agoThank you! That doesn’t seem as insane
- anon9001 7y agoSerious question: how does a guy like this actually get into a business like this? If I walked into YC suggesting to build dorms, I'm sure I'd be laughed out. What's the differentiator for Jon? The only distinction I can see is that he grew up in a commune. I do see the potential of the idea. The next obvious step is to bundle it with office space. You could give a discount for every employee you move into the dorm below the office. It's easy to imagine a building with shops on the first floor, dorms in the middle, and offices at the top. You could live on a budget, never have to leave the building for work or food, have 0 commute, and some sense of community. I think there's going to be a rising demographic of people that don't want to work and are willing to sacrifice having kids for an early retirement. This would be an excellent choice. I could have graduated college, put in a decade in a dorm above a software factory, have minimal expenses, and retire by 30-something.
- dannyw 7y agoCharisma and connections help.
- newsbinator 7y ago> The next obvious step is to bundle it with office space That's partly the plot of the Canadian film, Waydowntown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waydowntown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waydowntown
- cryptozeus 7y agoDid you actually listen to the whole interview? They have market fit and thousands of applications for their product. What are you basing your opinion on ?
- anon9001 7y agoI did. If you list a room for rent in SF that looks nice and is competitively priced, you'll also have thousands of applications. What do you think is the innovation here? He's offering housing in a market with no housing supply. Of course he has market fit. It seems the steps here were: Be born in commune. Notice SF has a housing problem. Suggest building a commune in LA and SF. Get funded by YC. Maybe it's like asking for a date with a very attractive person, where everyone thinks they can't possibly get the date, so nobody ever asks?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- Merrill 7y agoI thought that lots of senior housing establishments offer what is essentially dorm living as an option in between independent apartment living and full nursing care? In college, Mrs B's rooming house was about the best accommodations I had. She had 5 single rooms and 2 double rooms IIRC. It was $9/week for a single circa '65. Another $11/week for 20 meals at the eating club, and I only got food poisoning once.
- saghm 7y ago> I thought that lots of senior housing establishments offer what is essentially dorm living as an option in between independent apartment living and full nursing care? My grandmother moved into one of those a few years ago, after one of her friends moved in and loved it. She's still pretty independent, making her own food sometimes instead of eating in the cafeteria, still driving (although she's mentioned that she's thinking of selling her car and voluntarily giving up her license, but seems to really enjoy living around so many people her own age and being able to attend the social events they hold. Although she hasn't had any health problems (89 years and still going strong!), it's comforting to us to know that if some sort of emergency did happen, there are plenty of people around whose jobs are to help out.
- cvhashim 7y agoReally cool idea. Cohabitation and community development. Although I'm worried what would happen if Starcity never reaches profitability and starts going back on everything they've set out to do.
- rb808 7y agoI spent half my 20s in dorms and big houses with roommates. Awesome time, met a lot of cool people that remain friends to this day. I don't know why people aspire to get their own house/apartment, its really boring.
- BubRoss 7y agoWomen
- RhysU 7y agoIt scaled so brilliantly when we could simply evolve plumage.
- CapricornNoble 7y ago>>>I don't know why people aspire to get their own house/apartment, its really boring. Maybe you are dating a screamer, and she's self-conscious about all of your flatmates hearing her moan all night? Or you are dating people who are themselves tired of sharing their living space with a bunch of flatmates, and are eager to experience some quiet, romantic, privacy? Maybe you wanna listen to death metal at 2am while you do Crossfit in your living room. Easier to do with a free-standing home. Maybe you carefully meal prep, and are tired of your stoner roommates' random GUESTS eating your food. Maybe you have met a few married couples who are swingers. They're probably more comfortable coming over a private residence for an S&M party rather than a shared living space, with people they haven't vetted. Or maybe you want to start a family and have children (GASP, who does that, right?). It's always interesting to me, seeing so many HN posters that correlate "living like sardines in a can" with "not being boring".
- jondishotsky 7y agoGreetings HN, Jon Dishotsky, CEO and cofounder of Starcity here. Thanks for all your feedback. A few notes that I thought I would share with you all. Starcity's mission is to make great cities accessible to everyone. We're only a little over 3 years old but have made a lot of progress. Let me set the stage a little bit. There is a sinister problem permeating great cities in the world — increasingly expensive housing costs, and it begins and ends with a lack of will. Politicians, developers, and banks are content with the status quo where economic growth and quality of life are bled out of residents by ever-increasing rents. But it’s renters that suffer the most from this lack of will, and they’re being pushed further and further away from urban centers — away from culture, job opportunities, and easy access to amenities. First, a few key facts to keep in mind: - 7 million new renters enter the market to find housing every decade in the United States and spend $1.1T annually on apartment housing - Apartment living was the fastest-growing segment of the housing market over the last decade - 43% of apartment dwellers live in multi-family developments in urban settings, which translates to 35 million urban renters Why are these facts important? Because, unfortunately for renters, inflation-adjusted rents have increased by 64% since 1960, while real incomes have not kept pace. This pushes renters into stressful situations such as: 1. Commuting longer distances to areas where housing supply is less expensive 2. Moving into buildings that aim to fit more residents into the existing housing supply at a higher density and lower comfort 3. Apply to a lottery system for subsidized housing where the chances of getting affordable housing is similar to winning the lottery 4. Paying 50-60% of their income toward housing costs in an expensive modern high-rise 5. Playing craigslist sublease roulette where they don’t know what kinds of roommates they’ll get Consumers want modern, on-demand, community-oriented housing products in urban settings, but housing supply isn’t able to keep up with demand, and hotels aren’t a viable long-term option. Developers point to the inflexibility of banks and extensive regulation as reasons why 99% of new developments have the same format and little in the way of community. Regions like the San Francisco Bay Area and the boroughs of New York City would have to build supply at peak capacity for 50 years to create a meaningful reduction in costs for renters. But, because of the lack of innovation by housing developers, there are only two methods of creating affordable housing: A. Build expensive housing supply that becomes inexpensive over a significant time B. Subsidize expensive housing supply This is where Starcity comes in. We’re building a new category of real estate called coliving. In fact, this built form has not been created before, so much so that we worked with San Jose to create a new coliving designation that's separate from hotel, dormitories, and housing (https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/multifamily/why-san-jose-could-catch-new-york-city-in-co-living-development-100101 https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/multifamily/why-san-jos...). Designed to make great cities accessible to anyone, Starcity offers its residents a comfortable living experience with a private, fully furnished bedroom, and private or shared bath, complemented by warm, inviting shared kitchens and living spaces. Our priority is to make it so that our residents feel like they’re part of a greater community from day one, while always feeling at home. We also don't waste space building hundreds of kitchens and living rooms that go virtually unused throughout a given week. The past methodologies are not sustainable and waste a tone of space. We find underutilized multi-family, hotel, and commercial spaces or build ground-up developments to create coliving communities, adding to the city's housing stock without displacing a community’s longtime residents. With community-building at its core, Starcity works with local community stakeholders, government agencies, and nonprofits to understand the communities we enter, offer volunteer and engagement opportunities to our residents, and attempt to become a source of energy and opportunity for the neighborhoods in which we offer housing. The real estate industry and developers are focused on developing projects that create the highest return for investors, creating luxury units catering to high-income populations, which aren’t accessible to the average person looking to live or start their life in a city. Governments, on the other hand, are focused on supporting the lowest income individuals via subsidized housing. The result is that middle-income earners are the first to be squeezed out of cities. And yet, so much research indicates that just being close to opportunity increases the likelihood of increasing your upward mobility (http://www.rajchetty.com/papers-categorized/#papers_opportunity http://www.rajchetty.com/papers-categorized/#papers_opportun...). We are just getting started, and hope that you bear with us as we get to our fully realized vision. Developments like 457 Minna (https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Co-living-tower-in-SoMa-could-usher-in-wave-of-14074532.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Co-living-tower-...) which breaks ground next year in San Francisco will allow someone on minimum wage to afford to live in a Class A property in the heart of the city. Please feel free to AMA or reach out to me directly if you'd like to hear more about what we're working on.